At a lookKnowledgeable’s Score
Execs
- Attractive design
- Beautifully snug and safe match
- Excellent weatherization: IP57 means they are often submerged
- Glorious sonic signature with superb bass efficiency
Cons
- Mediocre noise cancelling and transparency mode
- Dear
Our Verdict
Pretty to have a look at, lovely to hearken to, Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay EX compromise solely when it comes to lively noise cancellation. If audio efficiency is extra essential to you than noise cancellation, and the value doesn’t scare you off, they ship a hear.
Value When Reviewed
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX : $399.00
Finest Costs Immediately – Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX
Bang and Olufsen’s Beoplay EX true wi-fi, noise-cancelling earbuds function lovely design, a safe match, sturdy wi-fi efficiency, nice sound, and respectable battery life. They’re additionally totally waterproof—to the purpose they’ll survive being submerged in as much as one meter of water for half-hour. If their $399 asking value doesn’t make you examine your pockets, learn on and see why they may very well be B&O’s best in-ear headphones.
This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s protection of one of the best noise-cancelling headphones, the place you’ll discover evaluations of the competitors’s choices, plus a purchaser’s information to the options you need to take into account when looking for the sort of product.
Beoplay EX design cues
B&O audio gear is about kind as a lot as operate, and the Beoplay EX actually make a press release. When you get previous the truth that their stem-shape reminds you of Apple’s Airpod, you’ll marvel on the Beoplay EX’s magnificence. They’re designed by Copenhagen’s Thomas Bentzen, whose industrial designs are recognized for his or her “simplicity, rationality, and performance.”
The Beoplay EX are as a lot a vogue accent as they’re earbuds. I can’t fairly clarify why, however even after weeks of use, the Beoplay EX’s design continued to attract my consideration each time I opened the case or held them in my fingers.
The Beoplay EX are additionally out there in a gold-tone end.
Bang & Olufsen
They’re out there in three finishes: Anthracite Oxygen, a matte black end with blue accents; Gold Tone; and Black Anthracite. My evaluation pair got here in Anthracite Oxygen. The Beoplay EX’s signature design ingredient is a tinted, mirrored-glass contact floor sporting B&O’s brand and accented with an aluminum ring.
B&O says the aim of the aluminum ring is to supply safety in addition to an aesthetic flourish. The aluminum ring is raised a hair above the glass disc, defending it from abrasion and scratches. Even after weeks of use, the glass remained pristine.
The one draw back is that the mirrored glass was susceptible to accumulating fingerprints. I discovered myself sharpening the glass very often. Maybe a future iteration might add some oleophobic safety.
Options of the Beoplay EX
The Beoplay EX sport 9.2mm drivers, the largest B&O has ever used for a true-wireless headphone. The producer says this ends in a “vital improve within the energy of every audio second.” I don’t sometimes like advertising hyperbole, however the EX actually do sound nice with strong dynamics.
These headphones are geared up with Bluetooth 5.2 radios and assist the SBC, AAC, and aptX Adaptive codecs. Wi-fi connectivity was glorious all through my weeks of use. With my iPhone 12 Professional, I might stroll greater than 90 ft line of sight and never lose a beat. Going up or down a flooring didn’t interrupt the sign both. Maybe extra impressively, I used to be capable of get higher reception via partitions and doorways and round corners than with another true wi-fi earbuds I’ve had in for latest evaluation.
The Beoplay EX’s battery life is respectable, however not category-leading, promising to ship as much as 6 hours with ANC and as much as 8 hours with out ANC. The charging case provides roughly 10 to 12 hours extra for a most of 20 hours. A 20-minute cost ought to offer you round 1.75 hours of playback.
The included charging case is slender sufficient to suit into your entrance pocket. The charging case has a USB-C port on the again and illuminates on the entrance to point out you its charging standing.
Bang & Olufsen
The Beoplay EX’s stems home six microphones. Bang and Olufsen says that beam-forming expertise can distinguish between your voice and the sounds of the world round you.
Bang & Olufsen’s weatherization works deserves particular observe. Many premium earbuds high out at IPX4, which means they’re proof against sweat or a drizzle of rain, however they most likely gained’t survive being dunked in a pool. The X designation, in the meantime, means the producer makes no declare for cover from particulate matter incursion—mud or sand, as an illustration. An IP57 score means the Beoplay EX will forestall sufficient particulate matter out to forestall failure, they usually can survive being submerged in as much as 1 meter of water for half-hour. The Beoplay EX aren’t simply fairly, they’re remarkably powerful.
Establishing the Beoplay EX
The Beoplay EX package deal consists of the earbuds and charging case, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and ear ideas. In a departure from the conventional small, medium, and enormous silicone ideas, the Beoplay EX include 5 units of ear ideas: Massive, medium, small, and additional small silicone ideas, plus a set of medium Comply TrueGrip TWR-200-B ideas.
The Comply memory-foam based mostly ear ideas promise to offer you a superlative seal and include the corporate’s “TechDefender” guard. This can be a skinny material that protects the earbud tube from ear wax, sweat, and particles. The Comply ideas will probably be your finest companion once you wish to maximize noise-cancelling efficiency. Selfishly, I want that the included Comply tip got here in giant. I discovered the medium dimension to be a bit too small for my ears.
When you’ve got smaller ears and have been pissed off by the dimensions and match of true wi-fi earbuds, the Beoplay EX stands out as the good match for you.
The massive silicone ideas match my ears one of the best. As soon as I received the Beoplay EX in my ears, I used to be arduous pressed to discover a scenario that will trigger them to fall out. Placing on a shirt was no downside. The earbuds stayed safe. Working was no problem. The earbuds didn’t budge. Shaking my head didn’t dislodge the earbuds. Their design is excellent. I might put on these headphones for hours with out fatigue.
Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay EX true wi-fi headphones present a superb match.
Bang & Olufsen
Utilizing Bang & Olufsen’s cell app
B&O’s companion cell app delivers performance the place it issues most. I didn’t need to fumble via complicated menus or choices to get to precisely what I needed rapidly.
All important controls are at a look: Playback; noise cancellation, transparency, and adaptive noise cancellation; listening modes (aka EQ settings); name settings; and standby (which turns off the Beoplay EX after 90 minutes of inactivity).
The app reveals the battery cost of every earbud and the charging case. I observed that if the charging case wasn’t open, it might not present up within the app. I needed to shut the case’s cowl and re-open it for the case to look.
You may immediately interact noise cancellation or transparency depth from 1-3 (don’t ask me why it isn’t labeled low, medium, or excessive). Turning on adaptive noise cancellation places the Beoplay EX’s sensors in management. The sensors mechanically decided the quantity of noise cancellation required.
The EQ settings are set alongside an X and Y axis visualized as a circle. You progress the central dot throughout the circle to make the headphones brighter, hotter, extra “relaxed,” or extra “energetic.” The wheel modifications coloration to point an depth and fortunately alerts when you’re rising or lowering bass and treble. That is high-quality for the novice, however extra skilled customers will do not know which frequencies you’re effecting.
The Beoplay EX, proven right here in Anthracite Oxygen, are as lovely to look as they’re to hearken to.
Bang & Olufsen
The Beoplay EX supply solely common noise cancelling
If you happen to’re in search of one of the best pair of noise-cancelling earbuds available on the market immediately, the Beoplay EX aren’t the earbuds you’re in search of—and that’s simply high-quality with B&O. Over a number of discussions with B&O representatives over a number of years and product traces, the corporate’s sturdy stance has been to ship noise cancelling expertise that doesn’t intrude with their headphones’ musical efficiency. From that perspective, the Beoplay EX observe a long-standing custom.
I used the Beoplay EX throughout a latest cross-country flight from NY to LA. The Beoplay EX with the silicone ear ideas did a mean job of chopping down the airplane engine noise. It took the sting off, however no extra. Had the included Comply ear ideas match me higher, I’d have been in a position gauge how significantly better the Comply ideas assist ANC efficiency over the silicone counterparts.
Transparency mode is meant to let the skin world in to allow you to hear bulletins or make you conscious of your environment. B&O’s transparency mode likewise isn’t magical just like the implementation in Apple’s Airpods. The distinction with transparency enabled was refined on the Beoplay EX. Wind is the Beoplay EX’s kryptonite. I discovered it finest to show noise cancelling and transparency off in windy environments.
I’d subsequently say that the Beoplay EX are designed for people who relish the EX’s different options and don’t require best-of-breed noise cancelling or transparency options.
Making telephone calls with the Beoplay EX
Cellphone calls with the Beoplay EX had been strong and dependable. People on the opposite finish might hear me clearly. I’d wish to applaud B&O for offering management over how the Beoplay EX behaved throughout telephone calls. I’ve chastised some producers recently for failing to provide customers management over how the headphones behave once you make a name. Some corporations stick you in transparency mode or default you to adaptive noise cancelling, the place you’ll miss what somebody is saying because the earbuds fade the audio to change modes. That’s not an issue right here. B&O’s cell app enables you to take management if you need noise cancelling, transparency, or not one of the aforementioned options lively whilst you’re on a name. These are the small print that matter once you wish to ship a premium consumer expertise.
The Beoplay EX can be found in three finishes, together with the gold tone proven right here.
Bang & Olufsen
The Beoplay EX’s musical efficiency
I examined the Beoplay EX with an iPhone 12 Professional utilizing Tidal, Apple Music, and the Roon app linked to my Roon Nucleus server. The Beoplay EX’s sonic signature is nice and musical. It reveled in delicate to dynamic musical numbers.
I used to be completely stunned by the Beoplay EX’s bass efficiency. I wasn’t anticipating the extent of management, dynamics, and element they pumped out. The pulsating bass from the opening of Bonnie McKee’s “Bother” sends subsonic rumblings via my dwelling when performed on my reference speaker system. The Beoplay EX by some means delivered the bass from that tune in a means that I skilled it somatically—not simply confined to my head, like so many true wi-fi earbuds. Bass traces from Lorde’s “Royals,” Billie Eilish’s “Dangerous Man,” Think about Dragons’, “Believer,” and Dido’s “Northern Skies” landed with the precision of a hammer placing an anvil. And it didn’t matter what style I threw at them.
Choral items sounded surprisingly large and dimensional. The sense of area was evident on Capella Romana’s “Ode 4 of the Canon of the Treasured Cross” from Misplaced Voices of Hagia Sophia. The Beoplay EX authoritatively rendered organ notes from “Stop Fecit”, the third observe on Nidarosdomens Jentekor’s Magnificat carried out by the Trondheim Soloists. The bass drums on Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare for the Frequent Man,” carried out by Fiji Our and the Minnesota Orchestra, exploded. And if I wasn’t but satisfied, the element and texture of bass notes on Sade’s “Soldier of Love” sealed the deal.
Microphones are embedded within the stems of the Beoplay EX.
Bang & Olufsen
The Beoplay EX had no downside rendering microdynamics or complicated musical layers. The EX had agency management over every instrument and musical layer on Michael Jackson’s “Clean Prison,” “Billie Jean,” and “Beat It.” Closing my eyes and specializing in any musical ingredient was a breeze.
Vocals had been dimensional and timbrally correct. Adele, Bono, Natalie Service provider, Alicia Keys, Robert Plant, Rebecca Pidgeon, P!nk, Katie Melua, and Holly Cole to call however a couple of sounded fabulous.
In abstract, the Beoplay EX delivered a extremely satisfying sweet-sound that exhibited the form of management, dynamics, and dimensionality I don’t sometimes affiliate with true wi-fi earbuds.
Our bottom-line opinion of the B&O Beoplay EX
Bang and Olufsen’s Beoplay EX true wi-fi earbuds unequivocally show what occurs when kind and performance merge into a surprising product. The Bang and Olufsen’s Beoplay EX true wi-fi earbuds are, in my view, one of the best earbuds the corporate has ever made.
Their design isn’t eye sweet, it’s excessive vogue. Their match is one of the best of any B&O true wi-fi earbud I’ve ever used. The B&O companion app is practical, not frivolous. Their sound signature is exceptionally sturdy. The one options I discovered to be middle-of-the-road had been the Beoplay EX’s lively and adaptive noise cancellation. If you happen to can commerce these options for audio efficiency, you’ll dig these headphones.
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